198

THE TRUE TEST OF AGRICULTURAL PROGRESS

The soundest test of measuring agricultural progress
is evidently the out-turn of crops. If the out-turn of crops
per acre, shows a definite increase when examined over a
number of normal years, it can serve as an incontroverti-
ble proof of agricultural progress.

It is a misfortune of this region, as it is of our country,
that few peasant-proprietors keep any accounts of the
annual yield of their farms, as the majority of them are
illiterate* Though many of them know whether there is
a tendency to an increase or otherwise, in the yield per
acre of any crop, their information can at the best be
accepted as vague impressions, as they do not weigh
their corn. Such impressions are obviously of no use for
a statistical and scientific study of the subject. We have,
therefore, inevitably to fall back upon tests like those enu-
merated above, which enable us to observe agricultural
progress or otherwise, only indirectly.

We propose to take the first four of these tests together
for our discussion. It may be mentioned at the outset,
that these tests taken by themselves in an abstract manner
are no good as true indices of agricultural progress or
otherwise. They must invariably be studied in relation
to- the size of the population. The significance of this
important remark will be obvious from the following two
tables :

TABLE No. 1.

Tests
Year 1915-16
Year
1926-27
Increase <+) or decrease <->
Percentage increase [+1 or decrease {— ]

I.
Land under culti-
SI 29 -9
3143-4
+ 13-5
+ -04

vation in acres

2.
Plough cattle
693
616
-77
— 11-1

3.
Ploughs
297
329
+ 32
-MO-7

4.
Carts
179
198
4-19
-HO-6